Plans are submitted for seven-turbine floating wind farm off Dounreay
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Plans have been lodged with Highland Council for a wind farm off the north coast of Caithness that will be the biggest of its kind in the world when complete.
The proposed 100MW Pentland Floating Offshore Wind Farm (PFOWF) will see seven turbines up to 300m high to their blade tips being built around 7.5km offshore from Dounreay.
It is being developed by Highland Wind Limited, which is majority owned by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) through one of its funds, and is due to be operational in 2026.
Consent is being sought under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 for the construction and operation of an offshore generating station.
The application covers "up to seven floating wind turbines of up to 300m to blade-tip height, seven floating substructures with associated mooring lines and anchors/piles, inter-array cables, two export cables, landfall, and associated scour and cable protection measures".
Two marine licence applications are also being applied for, under the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010.
Project director Richard Copeland said recently that the development, if approved, will bring "far-reaching benefits" by supporting security of energy supply for the domestic UK market and contributing to a sustainable energy mix.
“The core aim of the project is to test and demonstrate floating wind technology solutions that will reduce costs and accelerate industrialisation," he said.
Following consultation with the community, changes were made to the final design of PFOWF to "minimise potential visual impacts". These included reducing the offshore site area for the turbines by 50 per cent and the maximum number of turbines from 10 to seven, while still delivering the same power.
Project development activities are being led by CIP’s development partner, Copenhagen Offshore Partners (COP). The project development team is based in Edinburgh.
